same old same old really ..bliss

I can't believe it was August the last time I wrote on here. the point I guess with animals and certainly ponies is that they like routine and so one day just blurs into another...feed pick up poo turn out bring in feed pick up poo and so on. Sheltie has just been the same old cutie all the time. He still picks up a glove when I throw it a short distance. I stopped giving him titbits as rewards and that has kind of spoilt the point of doing it for him so just now and then I have to sneak a bit of carrot in my pocket.
He still shakes hands and now will walk backward when I pull on his tail...don't copy this on another pony kids, and don't ask me why I thought it would be a good skill to teach him. Anyway. He long- reins well, but has not had a rider on since the last report. However he now has a big macho looking leather roller which I have used to attach him to an old car tyre and he now can tow that around the sheep field without worrying.
This is part of my long term plan to have him pull a cart or a sledge, anything really to push his usefulness and education on. If I don't keep doing little bits he will be just a very cute field ornament and as he has never done a day's work in his life, nor been a poor neglected rescue pony who deserves a break I feel he ought to earn his keep by letting me play with him a bit.
He has his winter coat on now but has been looking trim all summer - for a Shetland anyway. Last year it was severe snow six weeks from now so I am going to make the most of mornings out with him while I can. After a night in it suits him better to graze for a couple of hours while I do chores then be brought in to work, otherwise all he wants to do is grab grass.
It was wormer time last week and the farrier is due again in three weeks, just little regular attentions that need doing (and paying for). He is one very contented little chap and he does not know how lucky he is to have ended up where he is xx

Humans 1 Pony 0

Ha. that got the little blighter sorted.
He let the rider on good as gold, standing properly and relaxed. When asked to move forward he tried a rear...really scary - not - as he is only a bit taller than me when he did it. Lauren said "I like a horse (!) with spirit". He then did a tidgy little buck which never quite reached his back legs.
I led them through the bending poles and then removed the lead rope. Lauren was able to guide him through the poles using the reins properly. He was a bit twitchy but went where he should. Lauren came again a few days later to repeat the task. He tried to go into reverse but once under way she was able to steer him about the poles and track quite nicely. She said he felt much more relaxed the second time too. He knows exactly what we want and he can do exactly what we want so if he does not do it when small people are on board it is because he is being a very naughty boy.... He is a Thelwell pony through and through xx
Lauren mastered long reining him...it is good if he is biddable and understands commands from others even though I do not intend letting anyone else have him!
He jumped on the lunge beautifully, even  knowingly, he really lifted neatly, not rushed or a mad clearance but just right. I think he is a smart little pony and hope that we do get him gentler for little riders.

WATCH THIS SPACE...

Well, since Sheltie was a naughty boy, I never took any chances with the last visitors, I kept him on a short lead and we were able to give a couple of little boys a new experience, but I could tell by the body language that given half a chance he would have been somewhere else. However, at work today I was talking to a very dainty 14 year old girl who is a very experienced and brave rider...she is going to come and have a turn on Sheltie in the morning...she is quite used to falling off, has been dragged by a stirrup and loves jumping so she could be the one to teach Sheltie a new way of working.
Having had the bad times I have to say that he and I have been working on the bending poles and he is absolutely brilliant weaving in and out of them. I added a small jump on the track after the pole on the ground and he has taken both on his lunge very nicely. Today after bending I went back over the pole with him and then slipped a rein over his shoulder and we jumped the jump side by side! (well I can't do it on his back can I ?)
I am either a very dedicated pony person or seriously simple. I am still happy , nay excited, to be able to go round in circles in a field with a short fat pony on the end of a rope. You decide!
I will add the result of the new rider tomorrow xx

SHELTIE IS A BAD BOY

Oh dear~ everything seemed to be going so well. We had two little girls up on Sunday and he was really good, a little lead and a little lunge work. The lunge was so good that the little girl was able to halt him with the reins and move him on with voice and a nudge. So another little friend who can ride to a trot came on the Wednesday to do a bit more.....but she rode at 10 not 8 and methinks Sheltie was a bit fed up not being in paddock with pals by this time because he decided to have a little buck and another and another...the little girl bounced and bounced and then left the saddle...she bruised her elbow and bit her lip good and hard, there was blood everywhere...I felt so awful as it was meant to be a treat for her and she ended up in tears. I called to see her later in the day and she was fine but it was not a good morning! The next day my next victim was at 10.00 as well so I took no chances, we just did lead rein with an eye on grumpy bum's ears. All went well but I need to make sure he isn't starving to death by the time riders arrive! He has extra hay before they came but it is not the same as being out in the field.
Two days later he long reined down a line of bending poles and took a pole into his lunge work, his jump was really neat and he was quite relaxed. Which goes to show he is not a machine and knows what he likes and does not like. I have two or three youngsters from church over on the 16th Aug so I will try to have him in a better frame of mind...don't want more tears.
Lately, since he realised how well I could groom him , he has been trying to groom me while I am poo picking in the stable. Because he is little his droppings are dinky and scatter easily and so I can be grovelling about for quite a while picking up bits from the bedding (Eezibed) he is at me constantly with little nibbles saying " come on, let's groom each other" If he was 15 hands it would be daunting to have him in your face like this but 'cos he is not it is just funny. He tries to give you his foot so that you have to rub him and love him, he is rather like a big dog wanting attention and that is why he is so much fun. It is probably very bad horsemanship to let him fuss around me but I am glad that he wants my attention even if it is for his own personal gratification.

Kay is the boss, repeat after me, Kay is the boss

Now Sheltie is five. He has been getting a bit bold of late and has needed taking down a peg or two. It became apparent when the landowner looked after him when I went away for a few days. He never tried to squash her in the stable nor move around when she brushed him. Basically he knows me too well and does not show me the same respect as someone who treats him like proper horse and not like a teddy bear.

I understand these things but he is so cute and I want to hug him BUT I am now giving him the cold shoulder and not loving him. It seems so mean to treat him like this before he does anything naughty but it is the way to go. Lately he has been virtually demanding that I scratch his withers and shake his hand...he is making the first move and he is not meant to that. He nipped my arm the other day, I had bare arms for the first time this year in the stable and as I was picking up poo he had a sniff and then a little nip...nothing nasty just a bit exploratory but I really chased him for it. He went round his box a few time while I played big bad mare behind him. Then I ignored him while talking over the door. Next thing he was standing behind me like a little lamb, head by my knee waiting for further instructions. Must be something in this tough love. He does not get edible treats after working well either, nor when being turned out. Instead he gets a good rub on his shoulder which pretty well sends him into ecstacy anyway...but now it is only when I choose, not when he leans on me in the stable ! Just like someone with a spoilt brat of a kid it is hard to see the faults in your own baby..but we are now back on track.

We are on regular walks out now with his bit in. The walks only last for half an hour so I lunge him a short while before we go out at walk trot and canter. He knows exactly what I want and is long reining a lot better, and can back up in his reins.

Been a long gap between posts, I will have to try to move this action packed life of ours on a bit so that there is something to report!

APRIL UPDATE

Well I can't belive where the time has gone either. It is almost the end of April and I have not reported on the great cuteness in my life for weeks. That is probably because although he looks cute he is not. He is one ornery critter as they say somewhere.

We are waiting for the equine dentist to visit again in May. When last here she advised on a new bit and let me have a really good look into the mouth of Sheltie. I have found a bit I think is ok but am waiting till she assesses it before doing any more rein work.

That is not to say he does nothing, but a few lunging times and a few walks up the track are quite bland now. He will follow on a loose line and he will walk, trot and even a canter on a lunge now, though I made him canter when he was being stubborn rather than let him avoid forward motion so even if he looked good doing it it wasn't being done under best conditions. One day I will ask him to go up the pace steadily rather than just chase after him like I did then. He was being a stubborn boy...

He has given a few rides again, only short, twice two weeks ago and twice this week. He stands to allow the riders to mount well enough and will walk and lunge with them on, but he would rather go to the paddock where his friends are and stuff his face. One of the riders is ready to try a rising trot on the lead, he is more ready to head for the field and has thrown in a couple of baby bucks, fortunately he is little and the rider thinks it funny so if he thought he was getting rid of her he was wrong. We just kept moving.I think it is more showing his frustration at being kept busy than out and out trying to getting rid as the jumps he did were very tiny and we have seen how he broncs around the paddock when he feels good- so if he tried those actions with a kid on board there would be a few nailbiting moments..but he doesn't so that ok then. He looks so sweet but is not at all.

He is still moulting like mad. It is white hairs all over me and you can see in the paddock where he has rolled leaving a white mist over the grass. It is a shame there is no use for a carrier bag full of white fluff..

He is still playing fetch with his glove and a brush and a bucket and anything he can carry which is really fun, he wants a reward and almosts asks me to throw my glove, trying to pull it off my hand. He steps back as if waiting to see which way it is going to go, it is a very deliberate movement and impressed the dentist and the farrier.Unfortunately he is not moving on much with riding pony skills. I am so short of a rider who can bring him on. I have not sat on him this side of the snow as I am too big and that is the trouble with his best friend Alysha, she is too tall now although she has had a good long ride around the hill on a lead so he has shown he is ok out and about...until he wants to sniff a pile of horse droppings on the path. He is like a dog, he cannot walk past someone elses business, perhaps because his nose is so low to the ground.

Morning are the same as ever, early out, feed and groom, work him, walk him or turn out and then the rest of the stable chores (except they are not chores). it does not matter what the day or the weather, he is a commitment and this has been over a year of blogs so far and he is only rising 5, his birthday is late June. There are years and years of life in him, probably more than I have left in me which is not a joke, it is a serious responsibility. Each day I see his face for the first time I get that gooey "isn't he gorgeous " moment and then the work begins. Mums out there - do not treat your child to a pony, little as they, are unless you truly want to live the life, it has to be what the grown up wants to do, never mind what the child wants. I am just so lucky to have my own MILKY BAR KID pony to enjoy, it doesn't matter if the rest of the family think I am bonkers. xx

I am off to my very best friend's tomorrow for a few days and the landowner  is in charge of Sheltie, I am lucky there too, I can trust her with  his life !!

THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT

February half term and Sheltie has visitors. They say a picture paints a thousand words (Perry Como??!!) These will show what a long way my boy has come. What a great time we all had. He now plays fetch in the stable and a little outside before the Spring grass calls too strongly. I will get photographic evidence of that claim before too long!
When  my daughters saw these pictures they were worried about the safety of the children...but you can see by the body language he is not a bit bothered. I have spent enough time poking and prodding Sheltie to know that he was going to be ok...besides there are plenty more kids where they came from!!!

New year new skills.

January is almost over. It seems ages since I updated this. In the time between I have seen two beautiful horses put to sleep before Christmas and a third only yesterday. I can still weep for my lost Spice, the more we look back on her the more we realise what a good horse she was and how kindly disposed to us humans. Sheltie has settled so well in his new home, he never seemed to stress at all and recently had a new mare join him and his pal so he is in a little herd of three and very content. After breakfast and a grooming session I have worked for 10 or 15 minutes most mornings, but where it used to be on the lunge it is now on the long reins. He understands whoa as a prelude to stand these days and we can do a slalom down a line of fence posts (with no fencing between, like bending poles) on the long reins, so steering is pretty good. He has just got the hang of backing up in them as well. He is very good at walking backward any old time but in the reins was a new skill. He moves off quite well too, at first he used to turn around and look at me ... can't see that being too good if in a cart! I am at the stables by 7.45 seven days a week, when the snow was bad it was a six mile walk round trip to get there.but he is worth it! Doing his bed does not take long, he is on rubber and easy bed; it takes two minutes to make his buckets for next meals ,the hardest thing has been water when the outdoor supply was frozen, fortunately there s  a handy utility room in the home close enough to carry buckets to and from. I only went flat on my back once this winter on the ice, no harm done thank God. Looking back on the last year Sheltie has gone from being a bit of a thug to being a very clever boy. He is quick on the uptake but has to ask why he ought to do stuff at the outset. After a million repetitions he gets on good as gold, but it is the repetition and the very regular routines that push the message in thoroughly. We have started doing a regular weigh tape check on the three ponies, all needed to lose a bit, but as we head into spring with the restricted grazing I am hoping to see Sheltie become a bit more slender. At the mo he is so hairy you cannot really tell his shape so the tape is a quick way to monitor all is well. I do not want him to end up a fat and laminitic pony. I got his crupper ok, and now am trying a different bit as he has not stopped opening his mouth in an unsettled way despite being light to steer with his bit in. I would even consider bitless if need be but we will see how a different bit works. He has such fat lips...all the better to kiss you with my dear! I am looking forward to having a few young riders up at half term to work on his rein skills from on board, Alysha did a couple of circles loose on him recently, I just stood in the middle and he did let her steer. WANTED, FOUR FOOT JOCKEY ,APPLY TO KAY. He is very small, very cute, very clever and very good, his personality is there but he is calm and biddable....I love him to bits.